seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Judges 10:6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, 7 he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, 8 who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. 9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress. 10 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”
Check out verse 7.... He got angry and sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites.....
It says that? He sold them?
This is from the easy English site.
This story is very difficult to understand. During the time when the Judges ruled, Israel’s people sometimes believed in God a lot. But their belief in him did not always increase. Sometimes it decreased. Israel’s people were now much worse than they had been. They had turned away from God to serve the Baals (male gods) and the Ashtaroth (female gods). Israel’s people also served the gods of the people who lived in Syria (Aram), Sidon, Moab, Ammon and Philistia. Deep in the people’s minds, things were wrong. This had affected very important things in the relationship between God and his people. The Canaanites’ religion was more powerful than their armies were. Israel’s people often had a temptation to follow that religion. When they did follow it, very bad events happened.
People today have discovered some things in the ground at Ugarit. These things show us something about the religion that the people in Canaan followed. El was the chief of the gods and he had a female companion called Asherah. Next came Baal, the god of rain and good crops. Then came Anath, the female god of love and war. Mot was the god of a certain time in summer. This was the time when there was no rain. He attacked Baal and he killed Baal. Then he took Baal to the place where the dead gods were. Anath searched for him. She found his body and she killed Mot. Baal became alive again and he had sex with Anath. This meant that the crops would be good in the next season.
People believed that they could get good crops by magic. They tried to do this when they acted out that story about Baal and Anath. They acted it with women that offered themselves for sex. This happened in the place where they praised their god. Some people say that there was a special celebration in the autumn in Canaan. On this occasion, the king and one such woman would act the story about Baal and Anath. The people believed that their crops would grow for another year as a result.
The Israelites knew that their God was powerful in the desert. And he was powerful in war. But they had forgotten that he could control the weather. He could also control what grew in the fields. And he could control animals. But they forgot these things and, as a result, some people stopped serving God. Other people practised syncretism. (Syncretism is when people try to mix different religions.) The people praised God. But they used the same places and methods that the Canaanites used. However, they could not really mix the two religions. God is not merely a god of nature. He also works by what happens at different times.
The Canaanites believed that religion had no connection with people’s behaviour in daily life. It only affected the places where they praised their god. But we learn from the Scriptures that God is not like that. He is completely the opposite. In the Scriptures, he demanded that people should serve him only. But the Canaanites believed in other gods. The Israelites praised these other gods. In this story, they suffered pain because the people from Ammon attacked them. Later, when Samson was the judge, they also suffered pain. They suffered then because the Philistines attacked them. The people from Ammon attacked Gilead on the other side of the river Jordan. And they also attacked Judah’s tribe, Benjamin’s tribe and Ephraim’s tribe.
People today have discovered some things in the ground at Ugarit. These things show us something about the religion that the people in Canaan followed. El was the chief of the gods and he had a female companion called Asherah. Next came Baal, the god of rain and good crops. Then came Anath, the female god of love and war. Mot was the god of a certain time in summer. This was the time when there was no rain. He attacked Baal and he killed Baal. Then he took Baal to the place where the dead gods were. Anath searched for him. She found his body and she killed Mot. Baal became alive again and he had sex with Anath. This meant that the crops would be good in the next season.
People believed that they could get good crops by magic. They tried to do this when they acted out that story about Baal and Anath. They acted it with women that offered themselves for sex. This happened in the place where they praised their god. Some people say that there was a special celebration in the autumn in Canaan. On this occasion, the king and one such woman would act the story about Baal and Anath. The people believed that their crops would grow for another year as a result.
The Israelites knew that their God was powerful in the desert. And he was powerful in war. But they had forgotten that he could control the weather. He could also control what grew in the fields. And he could control animals. But they forgot these things and, as a result, some people stopped serving God. Other people practised syncretism. (Syncretism is when people try to mix different religions.) The people praised God. But they used the same places and methods that the Canaanites used. However, they could not really mix the two religions. God is not merely a god of nature. He also works by what happens at different times.
The Canaanites believed that religion had no connection with people’s behaviour in daily life. It only affected the places where they praised their god. But we learn from the Scriptures that God is not like that. He is completely the opposite. In the Scriptures, he demanded that people should serve him only. But the Canaanites believed in other gods. The Israelites praised these other gods. In this story, they suffered pain because the people from Ammon attacked them. Later, when Samson was the judge, they also suffered pain. They suffered then because the Philistines attacked them. The people from Ammon attacked Gilead on the other side of the river Jordan. And they also attacked Judah’s tribe, Benjamin’s tribe and Ephraim’s tribe.
I guess the commentaries have a hard time with the term "sold them" as well... because they are ignoring it.
This is from blueletterbible.org.
He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon: If Israel wanted to serve the gods of the Philistines and the Amorites, God would allow them. He allowed them in the fullest sense, by selling them into servitude to the Philistines and Amorites.
They harassed and oppressed the children of Israel: Of course, Israel was never blessed when they served these other gods. Instead, they were harassed and oppressed; they were severely distressed - but God gave them what they wanted.
They harassed and oppressed the children of Israel: Of course, Israel was never blessed when they served these other gods. Instead, they were harassed and oppressed; they were severely distressed - but God gave them what they wanted.
IMHO... "sold them" has to have a significant meaning... but I haven't found one easy answer to what that significant meaning is....
